Reptile & Amphibian Forums

You can't help but notice all the wild babies coming in.

What on earth are they packed in? It says "unopened bags" & I am about dying to see what a "bag" of mixed wild babies looks like.

I have zero interest in buying, just want to learn more about how they get here.

1 trip to the snakey vet cost me almost $100. I can't imagine what people pay to get these bags of snakes checked out & treated for parasites etc. Yikes! No thank you. I'm guessing it's mainly the big breeders that can afford to deal with these.

I did that last year, It is tough,I had 1 out of 10 start to eat after first shed, I had two pass away, And 6 I had to force feed , And one that drove me crazy, I would force feed he would twist and twist untill he got the food out. This went on for 4 months and finally one day started eating on his own.. It was alot of work, But I learned so much from them. I am doing it again this year. I sold all but one I kept her and she is friendly, eats like a champ. I found it very educational. I know alot do not agree with importing them.

Thank you so much for your honesty!

Personally, I know that *I* am not prepared to deal with all that you just posted you went through with them.

I think it is absolutely fabulous that you put it out there for people to see what they are up against.

I think the babies are cute & unique. I bet it will be fun for you to follow along w/ their breeding cycles & kids.

How much did you spend on vet bills in total for all of them?
What kind of things did you have them treated for?

Do you have a pic of this infamous "unsorted, unopened bag" I keep reading about? lol lol

Any pix of the one you held back?

I've bought unsorted lots for the past couple of years - all very normal for the most part - nothing exceptional or worth keeping - it really is a lotto deal - some bags will hit but with just one you're lucky if they are female heavy.

Honestly there isn't a huge difference between normal babies and CH babies. Get them early in the season fresh out of the egg - make sure you set them up individually and hydrate hydrate hydrate them and you should be pretty set.

On the occasion that you run into parasite issues most people have the proper meds on hand as well as the background knowledge to deal with it without a trip to the vet. And really - there are a lot of people in this industry that know snakes better than most vets!

It's a fun time of year for sure! Mostly I look forward to seeing what other breeders get - there are always some stunning animals coming over!
-----
Tosha
JET Pythons

So you would endorse buying a CH or WC baby then?

Do you have pix of ones you bought? Have you bred any yet?

I buy my one bag of unsorted for pretty much the same reason I play the lotto when the jackpot gets big - I get drawn into the excitement and who knows maybe there is a one in a million shot I could get something really sweet. But I go into it figuring that I will likely get a bag of 10 normal males that I am going to have to establish and then find homes for - and you wouldn't believe how what a pain in the @ss it is to get rid of normal males.

I don't necessarily think that buying CH babies is a bad thing - but if you are looking for something unique/aberrant - I would recommend that unless you have the time and space to dedicate to snakes you aren't all that excited about - instead of buying an unsorted lot hoping to get something - you save your $200 and wait until some of the guys start posting their established aberrants for sale - that way you know exactly what you are getting and the work has been done for you. I would recommend you use caution and check around before buying CH lots from "just any importer" tho. That is where a lot of the problems that you hear about with captive hatched babies start: the parasites, regurge issues, etc. usually are a result of less than stellar husbandry.

As for my CHs I didn't get any in my unsorted lots so far that I have held back - I've gotten them established and found them new homes. I do have a bunch of aberrant female CH imports that I've gotten mostly from Ben Seigel that I really love - there is no difference between them and my CBB except that they are more stunning.

And yeah - I can't wait until next week when this years unsorted lot comes in.
-----
Tosha
JET Pythons

Your not kidding about them being male heavy, last year I got 8 males 2 females. 1 female died. I had one male that was very cool looking that is a dinking project for next year I gave him to a friend with the agreement that when breeding season comes I get him back for a few months to breed. It is cool to open the bag ans see 10 little babies and skin everywhere. I had 6 shed in the bag on the way here and the rest were about to shed..

You are rite.Baby balls early in season do very well.As far as morphs in unopened bags you migt get some of the hard to tell morphs slip in.Most expoters keep the morphs and contact importers and sell at a higher price.They are even breeding them now .So all we can hope for is yb/blk pastels and stuff like that.Also every year their is Some new strnge looking balls come in.
Lots of fun.
Mike

I was told that as long as it is early in the season you donot need to treat for mites. I treated anyway, I never did see any. I will take a pic in a few days she is in shed right now. She is a very pretty reduced, coppery color.

I have not seen that much of a mite problem on fresh imports .Mostly ticks.Also internal parasites in older imports worms and nemotodes.Thats why you will see people treat with panacur and flagyl.If you don't see the mites in the water I wouldn't worry to much but keep quarantened .
Hope this helps
Mike

CH baby balls will not have mites on them unless they came from someone in the US selling them that gave them mites. They may have a tick or two (even this is rare) and as long as you get an early shipment (before May 10th or so) they are normally perfectly clean healthy animals.

Most probelmes stem from people housing them together and not properly hydrating them.
-----
Neil Golli
(813) 856 3408
info@gollireptiles.com
www.GolliReptiles.com

Tosha - do you think your chances are better to get something unusual by buying a wild caught gravid female than a lot of wild babies?

At least this way you know someone hasnt picked through them, even if they say "unopened bag" or whatever?

True, its more expensive to buy the gravid female and you cant be sure how many eggs she will lay - or if they will even be good.

Alan

I guess it would depend on if you mean? New morph "unusual" or just a nice looking aberrant normal "unusual"?

I haven't done the Gravid female route yet myself - I have one WC female in my collection and she eats one wean rat a year and hovers just below safe breeding weight and that just frustrates the hell out of me - so that is a route that I am not really interested in expanding on.

As much as I can recall I don't think anyone has hatched anything spectacular from a clutch of a WC female - big clutches yes - but I can't recall any surprises - but I could be wrong and we don't always hear what hatches - so who knows. Perhaps the Derma (?) but that story has changed so many times it's hard to tell for sure.

I honestly don't think a whole lot slips out of Africa that they don't want out of Africa. LOL

How that for a clear as mud response
-----
Tosha
JET Pythons

WC imported gravid girl.
He got some funky spider/woma/who knows what thing hatch.

I know alot of morphs have popped out before. I have seen Yellow Bellies in wild litters, and know of Yellow Belly Females having ghosts and cinnamon pastels in the litter.

When it is called an unopened bag it is the bag that they were shipped from africa in, Normally a large pillow case or sack.

As far as vet bills go, i do not know one breeder that take CH to the vet. I got in close to 600 last year and only lost 2 that wouldnt feed. When they come in early in the season they have never even done their first shed, which means they havent eaten yet, which means they shouldnt have any enternal parasites unless they were passed from the mother which is unlikley. The majority of parasites are recieved from food that is digested. As far as mites go, They are native to Africa so as long as you are getting the snakes directly from a breeder who only deals with african shipments, you will never see a mite on a ball python in Africa, mites are native to the USA and South and Central America. Ticks are native to Africa however and are found on adult imports and bush babies, i have not seen them before on any CH that i have gotten in, i think the main reason being is beacause they are hatched in captivity and are not wondering around in the jungle.

Also i know that we do and also know alot of importers that have flaygil or panicure (exscuse sp) that they can administor on their own with out paying high vet fees. Like others have said in the past 90% of all CH are just as good as CB. I wouldnt take a CB animal that was eating well and looking fine to a vet, i wouldnt bring a CH either. If the animal eats and eats adn never gains weight or loses weight then maybe a round of panicure, but their is no reason to treat and animal for no reason.

In the past we have always had great luck with CH, actually most of my CH start eating before my CBs do..lol... As long as they are set up properly they thrive.
Thanks
Kim and Matt
N.A.R.C
Sorry so long

I agree. I managed a pet store for around 5 years that specialized in reptiles. We would get in around 200-250 CH balls every year and never really had much problems. There would be around 15 or so that would eventually need to be force fed but even out of those all but just a couple 3-4 may not start eating on their own and not make it. So out of 200-250 babys we had 97-98% survival every year for the most part. As far as vets, we never had to worry about anything serious. There have been a couple times where we would need to treat for mites but if you know what you are doing that is easy to clear up. Anyway, just my $0.02...

Well, I just wanted to see pix of the squirming new wild babies, but now after reading all the posts, I want one for myself!

Does this snake addiction just keep getting worse? I had 1 ball b4 xmas & now I have a handful. I wish this wasn't so much darn fun!!

I think we need a forum for snake addiction issues. Deep breaths, hide your wallet, CCs & tax return $. hehe

We treat them for internal and external parasites our self’s and keep them in Quarantine for up to 2 months . Thanks David of DS Reptile Rescue

I bought ten unopened bags last year and ended up with around 40% male and 60% female. I sold most of the males but held back alot of the females just because some had nice clean bellies and really nice flames. Alot of these had a prominent x pattern on their bodies which led me to believe they are likely sibs. Nothing spectacular though. Here are a few pics for you.

Jose